What Working Across Residential and Commercial Has Taught Us About Adaptability
At Studio Ray, we’re often asked whether we prefer designing for residential or commercial clients. Truthfully? We love both! not least because each brings a different kind of energy, pace, and creative opportunity.
Working across both sectors has given us something that feels increasingly rare in the world of interiors: adaptability. And that adaptability has become one of our greatest assets as a studio - not just creatively, but strategically too.
Every brief has its own heartbeat
Residential projects are deeply personal. They’re about memory, comfort, beauty, and belonging. We’re designing homes, not just spaces, and that requires deep listening, emotional intelligence, and a respect for how people really live.
Commercial interiors, on the other hand, are brand extensions. They’re public-facing, functional, and future-proofed. They require us to think spatially, strategically, and commercially - how will people interact, move, work, or shop here? What brand messages are being communicated, consciously or subconsciously?
Each project type sharpens a different skill, and toggling between the two keeps our perspective fresh.
Design thinking needs to flex
What we’ve learned most of all is that no two clients or briefs are ever the same. Designing a boutique office for a creative agency and transforming a period townhouse both require creative problem-solving, but the tools we draw on are different.
Residential design calls for emotional resonance. Commercial design calls for big-picture thinking. But both demand agility, clarity of process, and the ability to hold both vision and detail at once.
Timelines, teams and tenacity
Commercial projects often involve larger teams and wider collaboration with contractors, architects, branding specialists, building regs consultants. They’re fast-paced and collaborative, with multiple moving parts.
Residential projects can be more iterative and intimate, but equally complex in terms of managing expectations, tradespeople, and the emotional investment of a client creating their forever home.
We've learned how to adapt our communication style, our pace, and our process, and we believe that makes us stronger designers, no matter the project.
Lessons we carry between worlds
Some of our most impactful ideas for residential clients come from what we've learned in commercial design, such as clever space planning, lighting strategy, or sustainability considerations.
And often, our commercial clients tell us they love the warmth, detail, and soul we bring from our residential work. They don’t want cookie-cutter. They want thoughtful, human-centred spaces with personality and poise.
That cross-pollination? It’s where the magic lives.
At Studio Ray, we don’t believe in rigid rules or siloed thinking. We believe in listening well, adapting fast, and designing with meaning.
Whether it’s a family home or a high-street concept, a private sanctuary or a public experience, we’re here for the journey, wherever it leads!